"Did it fail?"
"More or less — but I have the general framework now. It just needs some refinement."
"Want to walk me through the theory? Maybe I can offer some suggestions."
Jhin glanced at Megumin in mild surprise. He had assumed that the moment she heard about his failure, she'd be dragging him off to go blow something up with Explosion magic. He hadn't expected her to volunteer to help.
"W-why are you suddenly staring at me without saying anything?!" Megumin had been the one staring at Jhin a moment ago, but now that he was the one staring back, she straightened her posture, turned her head away, and refused to meet his eyes. "I'm... I'm not doing this because I saw you sweating and felt sorry for you. I just don't want you passing out from mental exhaustion again and ruining our Explosion magic plans. Th-that's all. Don't read into it!"
"Either way, thank you."
"Don't be so stiff about it — that just makes it more awkward for me!"
Jhin smiled softly, then laid out his concept for a magic that combined both support and protection functions.
Megumin listened, fell into thought for a moment, then offered her input. "You don't have to be dead set on making the entire armor out of raw elements, you know. That places an enormous strain on your mental reserves — and just now, you failed because you couldn't maintain control, right?"
"Yeah, that's exactly it."
"Earth magic has a spell called [Earthen War Plate]. Despite the name suggesting it's formed entirely from earth elements condensed into armor, what it actually does is manipulate the metals and minerals within earth elements — using those as the primary structure, then mixing in the earth element itself to fill it out."
"So instead of using the element itself as the base, you use the element's by-products as the core material?"
"Exactly. Compared to pure earth-element condensation, that approach cuts the required mana and mental strain by at least two-thirds, with barely any difference in defensive performance. For a Grand Wizard with even finer control over earth elements, they can further reforge the composition of the metals and minerals — making the whole thing harder, pushing the defense rating even higher."
"Got it. Let me try again."
The thin white veil of magical energy settled over his hand once more. Silver-grey lines spread across the back of his hand like veins, forming the most fundamental skeletal frame — and then he began fitting the remaining elemental components onto it, piece by piece, like assembling a set of building blocks.
About ten minutes later, a silver gauntlet with razor-edged claw tips sat fitted over Jhin's hand. From the outside, it looked no different from an ordinary iron gauntlet — but only Megumin and he knew it had been built entirely from magic.
Jhin flexed all five fingers experimentally. For a moment, he felt an odd sensation — like he'd just fabricated a piece of high-tech powered armor. And so, the name came to him naturally.
"[Elemental Armament]."
"Hm?"
"That's what I'm calling this spell — [Elemental Armament]. It's not finished yet, but I've already decided on the name."
"Not bad, but I think 'God-Slaying Armor' has a better ring to it." Megumin was a little put out that she hadn't gotten to name such a cool-looking spell. She wasn't a warrior herself, but she had an appreciation for things that looked awesome — especially the gauntlet's design. The smooth, flowing lines and that ineffable quality stirred something in her chest.
If Jhin knew what she was thinking, he'd have told her the word she was looking for was futuristic.
"This world is full of people who worship actual gods, and you want to name it 'God-Slaying Armor'? Aren't you worried about the believers coming after you?"
"Pfft. There are plenty of spells with names like 'god-killing' and 'demon-slaying' — nobody's going to track me down over it." Megumin waved a dismissive hand. She was just an innocent grand wizard who cast Explosion magic and only knew Explosion magic. Adding a couple of 'god-slaying' flair words to her vocabulary was hardly a big deal.
"Anyway, I'm not going to argue about that. You wanted to go fire some Explosion magic, right? The Shattered Stone Desert is off the table now — have you found a good spot?"
"Your [Elemental Armament] isn't finished yet, is it?"
"I've got enough of the construction experience down — I can keep refining it as I go. No need to rush perfection." Jhin flicked his wrist and dispersed the magic. With the experience banked, the next time he built it, it wouldn't take nearly as long.
"Fine, then. Let's go fire Explosion magic at that abandoned castle we spotted before."
"Didn't I say that place looked like it had a hidden boss lurking inside? Why are you still setting your sights on it?"
"Our combined Explosion magic is powerful enough to seriously wound a lord-tier monster. Even if there's a hidden boss in there, it'll just get blown up, right?"
Jhin found her logic surprisingly hard to argue with. He gave up trying and simply nodded. "...Why do you insist on using the word 'combined'?"
"Because that story you told me was so cool!" Megumin pumped her fist with excitement. "'I'll form the head!' — come on, that line is absolutely legendary!"
"Ah, right, that story."
"So did Megatron end up successfully connecting to Optimus Prime via the oil pipeline and fusing into Galvatron, then defeat the final boss known as Majin Buu?"
"Oh, oh! And how did Frieza escape from Kyubey's tentacle-monster trap?"
Strange. Did I actually tell her that many of these half-baked stories?
Jhin scratched his head and decided not to worry about it. Since he'd made all of them up on the fly anyway, he just kept spinning the tale for Megumin as they walked toward the abandoned castle.
"So — Lord Frieza, consumed by his desire to obtain the miraculous power known as that of a magical girl, made his wish to Kyubey. But this was not the Kyubey he expected. Rather than granting Frieza's wish, it lured him to a desolate wasteland under the pretense of holding the class-change ceremony in a remote and unpopulated location."
"With his mind clouded by the promise of power, Frieza suspected nothing and walked straight into Kyubey's carefully laid trap. Before he could react, he inhaled the pink smoke sprayed by the tentacle monster and instantly felt his limbs go weak, stars bursting before his eyes — only then did he realize he'd been deceived. Yet his peerless strength was now completely beyond his reach, and there was no escape."
"Kyubey stood at the edge of the pit, sneering down at Frieza surrounded by writhing pink tentacles: 'Frieza, your relentless pursuit of power has led you down the wrong path. Now that it's come to this, I wonder — what are you thinking?'"
"Frieza let out a cold snort. A mighty warrior of the cosmos — how could he possibly fear such a crude trap? But then a wet, slick sensation crept up from beneath his feet, and he shuddered involuntarily. A terrible thought dawned on him: My — my weak spot... how could it know about that? I only ever told Cell about it...!"
"Hmm-hmm-hmm, Mwa-ha-ha-ha-HA!! Kyubey erupted into unhinged laughter, then yanked off its headgear. The face beneath it was devastatingly familiar. Frieza's entire body seized up; his pupils shrank to pinpoints. In a trembling voice, he said: 'It can't be — it's you! White—'"
Jhin paused — then pointed at the abandoned castle not far ahead.
"We're here. Megumin, let me draw out your Void weapon."
"Okay, okay — put the middle finger away. I know you're furious that I abruptly cut off the story and left the name unsaid, but I genuinely haven't figured it out yet. Let's fire off an Explosion magic first.
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